Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver

     Vancouver's Museum of Anthropology is located on the campus of the University of British Columbia, and it is a must-see if you visit the city. (Website )

    While the official founding date in 1947, the collection got started with  a donation of First Nations artifacts twenty years earlier, The core of the museum is, of course, devoted to the region's rich and varied First Nations history, including numerous beautifully carved and painted totem poles house poles, boats, boxes, baskets, masks, and other artifacts in the Elspeth McConnell Gallery of Northwest Coast Masterworks and the Great Hall.  The artifacts are mixed with works by contemporary indigenous artists.  The gallery includes high ceilings and lots of glass that really showcase the larger pieces.  Behind the museum, there are also a couple of  Haida houses and totem poles re-creating a 19th century village scene. (The museum grounds around the houses are currently under renovation.)

    But the museum is not all Northwest oriented.  More than 600 European ceramic pieces, ranging from the 16th through the 19th centuries, are displayed in the Koerner Gallery.

    Thousands of objects from around the world are displayed throughout the Multiversity Galleries.  The most interesting collections for me personally were the masks.  If you have an interest in masks, this is the museum for you.  There are hundreds of masks, representing many cultures.

    The Museum houses the world's largest collection of works, in various media, created by Haida artist Bill Reid.   The most striking piece is "The Raven and the First Men," located in the Bill Reid Rotunda.  It depicts the Haida creation story, specifically the moment when Raven discovers the first people in a clam shell on the beach, created from a huge block of laminated yellow cedar.  It is truly deserving of the full 360 degrees rotunda treatment with beautiful details all around.

    One could easily spend a full day in the museum.  The Multiversity Galleries have lots of artifact-filled drawers to pull out; that alone could take a day.   

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